Chapter 4 - Commitments Made.
Ann slowly became aware of the song of birds. And, the wind, wind blowing through the trees and birds in those trees. She languished in the waking state, the between place. She could lay here forever.
But she had to get up.
"I am sorry, Miss Ann, but you requested a wakeup call at 7."
"Thank you Jerry. I'm up." She sat up and wrestled herself around. Her movements suddenly accelerated and she rushed off to the bathroom. 'Morning bladder,' she thought. 'I almost wet the bed.'
After she had finished at the toilet, she walked over to the basin and splashed cold water into her face. She would hold off on her showering and morning hygiene until after her workout. She selected a pair of running shorts and a tee shirt, not really caring what they looked like, or even if they were clean. Her mind was elsewhere, musing, wandering, and trying to figure things out.
She had settled into sort of a schedule, urged on by Jerry. She exercised, swam, studied school subjects, but she also studied some curricula that Jerry had put together for her, subjects that she had never studied, or even knew existed, before. It was almost like his literate computer presence was slowly taking over her life, pushing her in a particular direction.
Jerry's curricula included various classic erotic novels, especially those that included slavery or submission topics. There were also books full of "The official slave rules and traditions of Gor". There were classics like "The Story of O", Marquis DeSade the Mr. Gray novels. There were official poses, formalities, rules and body contortions to be learned, the various Gorean forms and other mythos.
She drank it all in, she loved learning new things, but especially looked forward to the erotic material. She read those voraciously, often staying up until the wee hours engrossed in the stories.
When she complained about all the studying, as she had the previous night, Jerry had replied, "If you are really going to be a sex slave, Miss Ann, you really should learn all you can about it so you can do a really good job. After all, this was all your idea to begin with." Ann saw the logic in that but she also felt hoist on her own petard. "And," Jerry continued, "More importantly, you really should learn all about what you are getting yourself into before you make that kind of commitment."
Ann studied.
It had been almost a little more than a week since Ann had arrived here. 9 full days of waiting for an answer to her question. She looked forward to another day of waiting, working and studying, but also hoped that she would see John again. He had been mostly absent at meals and Jerry would not reveal where he was or what he was doing. The estate was a delight to live in, but she really wished she had an answer to her proposal.
When she finished putting on her workout clothes, he heard Mr. Sheffield speaking to her over Jerry's speakers. "Ann, are you there?"
"Right here, Mr. Sheffield. In my room. Just got up and headed for my workout."
"I have decided to accept your offer."
Ann felt a rush run through her. She jumped up and down, screamed and rushed into her bathroom. "I'll be there in 5 minutes, just have to get cleaned up!" She wanting to shower and shampoo - she did smell a little whiff - and run to him immediately, ready to give herself to him right then and there. "Hold it right there, young lady! Calm down, cool down. No rush. I have some conditions of my own for you to consider first."
She paused, wearily, looking up at his voice. "And what might they be, Mr. Sheffield?" she said, suspiciously.
"You must prepare yourself. There are a couple of details to attend to if we are going to do this right. I have been working on many of them, Jerry has some of the details, but I will leave some of these decisions to you. I will expect to see you in the Great Room at 7:00 tonight. Come prepared.
He paused a moment.
If you are to be my property, if you are really serious about doing this, I will have a proper ceremony celebrating the event."
"A ceremony? Like in the stories?"
"Yes, Ann. A classic sex slave collaring ceremony. With all the trimmings. Interested?"
"A whole formal ceremony? Seriously? Oh, yes, YES!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are so good to me." She started running around her suite, looking for things, but not knowing what she was looking for. Her mind ran with pictures, ideas, stories that she had read and her heart overflowed with multiple emotions. She started laughing and crying, both at the same time.
"Now, now. Settle down, Little One, settle down, and relax. We have a whole day to prepare, and Jerry will help. Much of the work has already been done. Just settle down, take a breath, do your normal workout and have breakfast. There is plenty of time."
Ann, plopped down on her bed and tried to compose herself. She took a deep breath and held it, finally letting it out. "As you wish, Master."
"No, not Master yet. That will come tonight after your formal collaring. Till then." He answered, ringing off.
Ann could not help herself. She started jumping up and down again, shivering with nervous energy and excitement. FINALLY, this was going to happen.